ABSTRACT
The homeland of the Ovimbundu is the Benguela Highland in central Angola. The Benguela Highland is well within the tropics, but the altitude and the effect of the antarctic current combine to produce a decidedly moderate climate. Differences of characteristic vegetation as between the Highland and the lower zones are striking. The most characteristic feature of the lower zones between the plateau and the coast is the baobab. While cattle may live on the Highland, they thrive better in the less well-watered lands to the west and the south where the neighbouring people are cattle-keepers. The cattle-keeping people who live just west and south of the Ovimbundu are the Nganda, the Ndombe, the Hanya, the Cilenge, the Cipungu, the Muila, the Nyaneka, the Mulondo, and the Khumbi. There are eleven missionary societies at work among the Ovimbundu: five Protestant and six Roman Catholic. There is only one fully organized Umbundu Church.
